Break Out 2012 - Pics and Videos

As you may know, Break Out 2012, YFC's annual middle school conference just wrapped up a week ago.  Here are links to photos and videos from the event.  ENJOY and thank you for praying for Break Out!

http://breakout.cdyfc.org/pictures

http://vimeo.com/38477780

http://vimeo.com/38477749

http://vimeo.com/38477684

So there you go...

News From Youth for Christ - March 14

Dear Friends of YFC,

She only had a few words to say when she came on stage at Break Out. It was Sunday morning - the last General Session of the conference before kids and youth leaders went home. We gave kids a time to come up on stage and share what God had done in their lives over the weekend - what they wanted to do or be differently when they went home. This girl summed up one goal of the weekend fairly well.

"I came here an atheist, now I'm saved." One more life ushered into God's eternal kingdom! What a blessing and privilege to witness such an incredible life change at Break Out. Another student shared that at her school, kids of faith get picked on for their beliefs. She then said that one thing she's going to do differently is not let that type of harrassment bother her - she's going to be clear and bold about her faith in Jesus no matter what others say or do. Now that's COURAGE!

 

 

Some people may think that 11-13 year olds don't have much to say. Well, they are flat wrong - the kids at Break Out showed that they were undestanding who they needed to be in order to truly, fully follow Jesus Christ. All told, there were 579 adult leaders and students in attendance at Break Out. We are also very grateful for the incredible team of 60 volunteers who kep the weekend flowing smoothly.

Meanwhile, the interest in and growth of The Edge Halfmoon continues to amaze us. There are more competitions coming up in the next three months and in early April, the Shiloh's Edge Adventure Course - our outdoor ropes course - opens for the season.

Thank you for the incredibly vital part you play in communicating the message of Jesus Christ to our kids. Thank you also for continuing to lift up our ministry and our staff as we seek to follow God's leading each day.

God bless you.

Dave & Janet Lenehan

News from Youth for Christ - Feb. 22

Dear Friends of YFC,

He's only 8 years old. He's definitely NOT in our ministry's target age group.  Neither is his mom. She's 22. When you do the math, you realize this boy was born when mom was about 14. But he's been coming to City Life's Jump Off ministry every Monday night for a few months.

His mom came two weeks ago.  She told City Life's Andy Lightcap that she stopped going to church a long time ago.  But, she said that all her son talks about is the Jump Off and that he can't wait to go each week.  She also said that she needs to be learning the things her son is learning...and that she wants to start going to church again.

22 and 8 - not in YFC's target - but needing ministry, needing the Hope that only is found in Christ Jesus.  THAT's why we do what we do...because people need HOPE.

From the Jump Off to Campus Life to Teen Parents to Excel and Break OUt - meeting a kid (and sometimes a parent) one on one and sharing the love of Jesus is the core of Youth for Christ - it is the core of our daily ministry. 

With the Break Out middle school conference now just 3 weeks away, please continue to pray for our staff as they prepare for the event. Pray also for the 600 students and church youth leaders who will be attending. Pray for their hearts to be prepared for what God will challenge them with over the weekend.

Pray for the kids coming with our City and Campus Life staff, too. Pray that God would clearly speak to them and draw their hearts to His.

Thank you so much for the incredible part that you play in this mission to reach every young person, one at a time with Jesus' love. Please know that our staff and volunteers value and cherish your prayers and your generous giving very much. Your partnership with us is vital as we move ahead to reach more kids, to impact more communities for Christ.

God bless you. Thank you for praying for us too.

In Christ,

Dave Lenehan

Lenehan Prayer eNotes - Dec. 16, 2011

Good afternoon.  I hope your day is going great and that you are caught up in the incredible story, blessing and gift that this Christmas season brings us as we reflect on God the Father's gift of His Son to us.

I wanted to update you on a couple of requests that went out last week.

Janet's Mom Phyllis Caley came through her surgery just fine...there were some other intestinal complications following it so she is still in the hospital...but might be getting out today, according to a text Janet just received. Doctors wanted to see some progress in recovery areas that had not quite gotten to where they needed to be..so pray she can go home today.

You read Wednesday about Chris Richmond's latest PET cancer scan.  With the latest reduction that doctors saw, Chris says the cancer is now down about 70% from its original size and spread in total!  That is such an answer to so MANY prayers...we praise God for his healing.

Little Zoe Prettyman who broke her elbow this week is recovering at home. She only had to stay overnight in the hospital, so that was ok.  Doctors said the surgery went well but there is not word yet on how long her recovery will be.  Pray for strength and encouragement for Kim and Steve.

Today was the second registration deadline for the Excel conference and we are so grateful for the groups that have registered.  We are seeing a slight up trend in attendance so its my prayer - and I ask you to share in this - that God would bring an INCREASE in attendance this year!  Thank you Lord.

We pray that you will enjoy your weekend and continue to look to the face of God as we come to Christmas next weekend.  Thank you so very much for partnering with us and praying for us.

God bless you.

In Christ,  

Dave & Janet Lenehan

dlenehan@cdyfc.org

Prayer e-Notes

Good afternoon!  I hope your day is going great.  It's certainly wonderful to have the sun back with us after so much rain.  If you don't live in upstate NY, you've probably at least seen news reports about the vast areas of flooding.  Many have lost homes, businesses, crops and so many memories.

In the midst of these tragedies, we've also seen the Christian community step up and help...providing resources, help in clean up, places to stay, meals and more.  It's a privilege to see men and women of God live out their faith so practically.

As we move into this new school year, there are some new and some familiar things that we would ask you to be in prayer about:
1) pray for our Campus Life, Teen Parents and City Life staff and volunteers as they begin their weekly clubs this month.  Pray for connections to new kids. Pray for the Lord to raise up many much-needed volunteers.
2) pray for the construction of our new building in Halfmoon.  Often, it does seem to be progressing rapidly, but we have a couple of months work left and we need to raise $1.5 million to complete it!  God's resources can provide.
3) as you pray for the funding of the new rec center,please pray that God would also raise up or point us to new staff.  There are so many possibilities for the use of the new facility to reach more kids with the Gospel message, but our staff cannot do that alone...we need to build our team as well.
4) on a personal note, pray for Andrew and Caleb as they settle in to the new school year.  We are so thrilled that this is Caleb's senior year and we're praying for God's leading for his future at college.
5) more recently, Joshua's car suffered yet another mechanical malfunction, and at this point, we do not want to sink more $$ into it because of its age and mileage.  Please pray for the Lord to provide a replacement vehicle for Josh so he can continue getting to his two jobs easily.

 6) pray for Janet as she settles into a couple of new roles are her job at LCS.  Pray for wisdom and patience.

7) pray for Dave as he also takes on some new responsibilities at YFC and as he concentrates more on the planning for Excel and Break Out.

Thank you so much for being such a key part of this ministry team!  Your prayers, your giving, your telling others about YFC helps us in so many ways.  Thank you for taking on your role in the mission of "...for every kid, one at a time."

God bless you!

In Christ,  

Dave & Janet Lenehan

dlenehan@cdyfc.org

News from Youth for Christ - Sept 2

Dear Friend of YFC,   

You've probably seen the TV game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire? The host asks contestants a series of multi-choice questions. When the contestant wants to lock in their answer, their letter choice, the host asks, "Is that your FINAL answer?"

In the myriad of conversations our staff has with kids, we find often that sharing Christ is more of a continuing conversation than it is a answer at any one given time.  Zack was a freshman in high school when we first met him.  He went to church and youth group regularly, he claimed that he was a follower of Jesus Christ.  One evening in a small group setting, Zack admitted he wasn't so sure any more about his faith.  When prodded a bit deeper, Zack said he really wanted to "check things out" about faith in Christ - if he was to be sure about this journey, he wanted to be COMPLETELY sure.  So the conversations continued in the months to follow.

Fast forward to Zack's senior year.  He said he had found what he was looking for. He said that all of the conversations, all of the reading, studying the Bible he had done had indeed convinced him that following Jesus was the best decision for him to make.  It took a few years of relational investment on the part of our staff, but Zack is now a COMMITTED Christian.  He now knows his final answer.

For kids like Zack and for others, such as those who attended our recent Blazefest HipHop Camp in Schenectady, a final answer on Christ may come quickly...or it may happen gradually over time.  Rest assured, though, that it is our commitment to ministering to kids that we will NEVER give up sharing the Gospel message - never stop asking kids about beginning a relationship with Jesus.

On another note, the construction of the new recreational center in Halfmoon is progressing quickly.  The interior walls are going in, the climbing surfaces are about ready to be cemented over and the wiring will go in soon.  We are also scheduled to close on our mortgage for the new building THIS AFTERNOON - PRAISE GOD! Please continue to pray that God would bring a buyer for our current offices in Latham.

 

As we move into Fall, would you also lift up our various ministry staff in prayer.  Our weekly Camps and City Life Clubs will be kicking off in a few weeks along with the Teen Parents Mentoring Program and Juvenile Justice Ministries.  Pray for those working with our contractors on the new building as well.  And please pray for our finances - for ongoing ministry as well as the new facility.

Thank you so much for your support and prayers for this ministry. God bless you.

Prayer eNotes - Aug 30

It is mind-boggling to know what has happened in the Northeast since we last wrote to you.  The earthquake in Virginia was felt here and even by some on Cape Cod where we were spending our vacation.  Then Sunday brought Hurricane Irene...and breath-taking devastation across our area.  We were spared completely, thankfully, but know that many areas where other YFC staff live are still without power and some river waters continue to rise.

We know you've been praying much over these past few days - thank you!  Now on to this week's prayer notes:

Blazefest was AMAZING!  What a privilege to witness many kids make a commitment to Jesus Christ Friday morning.  We are so grateful for the outreach on Saturday at Jerry Burrell Park...what a beautiful day to celebrate and honor the kids involved in Blazefest and to see and here them perform. Thank you for praying!

The next edition of News from YFC will give you a building update, but we PRAISE GOD that we close on our mortgage loan tomorrow!  And, there is someone who is apparently VERY interested in purchasing our current office building - that would be a great answer to prayer in the current economy.

Janet starts work at LCS this Thursday and the boys start their new school year in one week.  We are so proud of Caleb and his entering his senior year!  Josh's jobs continue to go well...pray for direction for him.

Fall brings us to a much busier time of year.  Weekly club ministries kick off.  We're are in the midst of planning the Excel and Break Out conferences; planning the move to the new building; developing the annual banquets and continuing to build new partnerships with local individuals and churches in order to strengthen YFC's prayer and financial backbones.  

Please pray that God would raise up at least 40 new donors for us in the next 10 months.  YFC's cash flow is VERY tight at this time and we need to continue to see new donors step up and step into supporting this ministry.

As we move through the next few months, would you commit to sharing our prayer needs with just one other person or couple whom you know?  That would be a huge blessing to us.  THANK YOU for praying.

God bless you!

In Christ,  

Dave & Janet Lenehan